As you know, one of the missions of this blog is to add new words to our grand American language. So far, we have tried to add:
Jeterate (JEET-ur-ayt), verb, to praise someone for something which he or she is entirely unworthy of praise.
Clemenate (KLEM-a-nayt), verb, the act of hating an athlete in an entirely healthy, fun sports way (rather than hating them in a crazed, stalking, loaded gun, insane sort of way).
Perquist [PURR-kwist], adj., a golf shot that does not go into the hole and, as such, falls short of perfection. But is still, like, a really skillful shot.
Tosmos (TAHZ-moze), noun, television shows that you have never actually seen but know the complete plot based entirely on commercials, word of mouth and diffusion.
And now we’re trying to add another word to the lexicon … this comes from golf again, but I think the word can be used in all sports circumstances. One of the problems of our language, I think, is that we don’t have a good word for “lesser sports courage.” The word “courage” is a big word, it represents the sort of significant and decisive bravery you might see on a battlefield or in a Little Rock school during integration or in a raging forest fire or someplace like that. Courage speaks to life and death, good and evil, mobs and heroes, and any lesser use of the word seems silly and asinine.
The thing is, we see lesser courage all the time, especially in sports. Someone makes a twisting 15-foot putt to win a golf tournament, and the announcers call that “courageous” and that’s stupid, but it did take SOMETHING. There should be a precise word for that something. It happens in every sport. Someone hits two free throws to tie the game in the final seconds, someone makes a 48-yard field goal into the wind to win a playoff game, someone paints the corner for strike three with the bases loaded, someone serves three consecutive aces when facing three match points, someone plays through an injury or personal tragedy, someone overcomes exhaustion and makes a spectacular run and scores the tying goal during injury time, someone bowls three strikes in the 10th to get the 300 on national TV, someone performs the perfect ice skating routine at the Olympics with a billion people watching, someone makes 45 saves against an impossible barrage of hockey pucks … the word isn’t courage, but there should be a word for it, a word for the sturdiness it takes to stand up to sports pressure or the pain of the moment and deliver the winning performance.
There’s the word “balls,” of course, but it’s a crass word in that context, one they can’t say on network TV, and anyway I hate, hate, hate the whole concept of using genitalia to describe someone’s level of grit and boldness. It’s stupid and sexist. There are other synonyms for courage like bravery and fearlessness and heroism, but none of them really take the word courage down to the level we need.
So, I nominate the word “Tigerage” for all the obvious reasons. The official definition would be:
Tigerage (”TI-gurr-ij), noun., the ability to perform at a high level despite the various pressures and physical discomforts that sports presents.
Example: “He showed a lot of tigerage there, getting the ball close from that spot in the rough.”
Example: “It takes incredible tigerage to make that jumper with a hand in your face!”
Example: “There are those who would say that Fred Couples has lacked a little tigerage in his career. Ben Sheets too.”
Example: “Ana Ivanovic* may be one of the hottest Google searches around because of her looks, but she’s more than that, she also has a lot of tigerage.”
Example: “Jeter plays with tigerage every single day, doesn’t he?”
Example: “And the last thing he said to me … ‘Rock,’ he said, ‘sometime when the team is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with tigerage and win just one for the Gipper.”
*Personally, I go to Ana Ivanovic’s Website for the articles, OK? For instance, I’m reading Ana’s Wimbledon diary, and it says here that for entertainment Ana is planning to watch Lost and maybe a couple of Friends DVDs, which, hello, coincidence of coincidences, is exactly what I do for entertainment except for, you know, the part about watching Lost or old Friends DVDs. But here is absolutely my favorite part of the diary, and my favorite sentence of the year so far: “I’m excited to watch the new season of Prison Break when it is shown in the autumn: I am a fan of high-octane action thrillers.”
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17 Comments, Comment or Ping
Mikey
I think the accurate word to describe this quality is “nerve” although I admit it lacks drama and grandiosity.
Good old-fashioned “guts” is okay for sports too. It doesn’t suggest the seriousness of “courage”.
Remember how after 9/11 we were going to stop using words like “courage” and “hero” to talk about sports? Boy, that didn’t last long did it?
Jun 24th, 2008
Glen
Joe,
For many years, my buddies and I have used the term “Strug” in honor of Kerri Strug sticking the landing on a basically broken leg in the Olympics. “He really strugged that one.” or “Can you just strug up and hit the putt?” The reason I can’t support labeling this after Tiger is that I’m pretty sure your average NFL or NHL player practices every day in more general pain than Tiger was in. Not to mention the fact that Tiger really hasn’t ever faced a pressure shot in his entire life. He started his professional career with 40 million Nike dollars in the bank. He never faced Monday qualifying, having to feed a family, having to pay back sponsors, etc. I LOVE watching Tiger and my seven-year-old is crazy about him, but I’m not willing to annoint him my avatar for “lesser sports courage.” Pick Kirk Gibson, pick Jack Youngblood, pick Ronnie Lott lopping off a digit to keep playing…but don’t pick a guy who has played with house money.
Jun 24th, 2008
Zach
I’m also against making active players into a verb like this. Tiger’s an obvious exception, because he reached honest-to-goodness legendary* status several years ago, but in general there should be a Hall of Fame - style waiting period.
*I’m a strict constructionist about the word legendary. If you say someone is legendary, you must be prepared to relate an actual legend about that player on demand. The exception is a legendary attribute, since we haven’t had enough time for old men to exaggerate their youths yet. If you’re discussing Mariano Rivera’s legendary intimidation, I will accept the term, even though I haven’t yet heard the story about how Rivera once threw at a batter’s head just to watch him die.
Jun 24th, 2008
Jack (Minneapolis)
What about the opposite of this courage?
It should be a derivative of the word, “Phil.”
Philwardice? That was a philwardly performance. He showed what a philward he is by not stepping up on his home course.
Jun 24th, 2008
Mike
I have to take exception to using Fred Couples in your example. I think you meant Davis Love III, or Sergio Garcia, or Kobe Bryant, or Roger Clemens… anybody but Boom Boom! The man won just about everything back in the mid 90’s and now that hes got a bad back, you think he lacks Tigerage? Great word, but improper usage must be called if we’re going to get this thing rolling.
Jun 24th, 2008
Aaron M.
Glen,
I don’t think you get it, it’s not about this one accomplishment of Tiger’s with the knee pain. It’s the fact that if he has a putt to win, or he has to make a shot, or whatever, he always, ALWAYS comes through. Most of his opponents have no tigerage, though Rocco Mediate showed some which made it such a good match. The point is that he always performs under the pressure and that apparently takes tigerage.
I really like the Strug reference too.
I think this is Joe’s first word that has a chance of getting some actual usage. Maybe Johnny Miller will pick it up and the other commentators will start using it because they are scared of him.
Jun 24th, 2008
Kev
Gamer? Gamitude?
Jun 24th, 2008
GSOAT
Clemenate? You might want to reconsider. Upon first seeing that word and reading the definition, I thought that it referred to Roberto Clemente (and I’m 37 years old, so I have seen much more of Clemens). You don’t want to hit Clemente with a stray shot, even in a laudable attempt to take down at Clemens. How about “Clemensate” instead?
Jun 24th, 2008
logs
Clemenate?? Yikes. I just ’schillinged’ in my mouth a little bit.
Jun 24th, 2008
Jon
What about Posterisk?
I thought that was the first word you made up on this blog?
Am I missing something?
Jun 24th, 2008
ajnrules
Active player with the least amount of tigerage? Probably Erik Bedard.
I second what GSOAT said about confusing Clemenate with Clemente.
Jun 24th, 2008
sdillehay
While “balls” is vulgar and sexist, nothing is better to describe what it describes. “Guts” is close, but lacks the impact.
Jeterate seems perfect for its definition (and I am a Yankee fan who will Jeterate often), but Tigerage feels weak.
Also, any futher “Insert name-ate, or age, or what have you” and we will be going down a road as infuriating as “nanny-gate” “travel gate” and every single freakin’ “gate” thing. (I’m waiting for a scandal involving water…)
You are a continual pleasure to read, thank you.
Jun 24th, 2008
Matt Cibula
This Onion article is perhaps of note here: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/man_who_used_stick_to_roll
Jun 24th, 2008
Pop Fisher
In the interest of accuracy … didn’t it turn out that the last Strug vault didn’t matter in terms of the US winning the gold?
Jun 24th, 2008
MONARC
It is correct that the US gym team didn’t need Strug’s vault. They thought they needed it to mathematically clinch, but right before her vault the Chinese (or whoever the other contender was) didn’t get the necessary score on their routine to stay in contention. The US didn’t know that though, so the vault was made with the assumption that it was needed. And it makes a better story anyway to ignore that fact.
Jun 25th, 2008
Dusty
Why not just use ‘clutch’ ?
Jun 25th, 2008
Edward OP
I was reading Jack’s comment above about the anti-word “Philward”, scanned through it a little quickly and misread it as “Philwad.”
Philwad.
Philweed.
Phillabrator.
Instead of “Tigerage”, perhaps something like “Woodsy.”
“Banny was feeling pretty Woodsy there to throw that inside pitch to Big Papi.”
Jun 27th, 2008
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